Mumbai: Vanchit Bahujan Aghadi (VBA) chief Prakash Ambedkar on Thursday met Governor Bhagat Singh Koshyari and urged him to take necessary steps to ensure that President's rule is not imposed in Maharashtra.
After meeting the Governor, Ambedkar said the President's rule could be avoided by administering the oath to two-three newly-elected MLAs. "If it is not, there is no option other than imposing President's rule," he said. He suggested that Shiv Sena, which is at loggerheads with its ally BJP over equal power-sharing, Congress and Nationalist Congress Party (NCP) should stake claim to form the next government in the state.
Ambedkar, however, said if Shiv Sena, Congress and NCP forms the government, it would not last more than six months. Talking to ANI before the meeting, the VBA chief said that he would request the Governor to impose Governor's rule in the state. With the term of incumbent Assembly coming to an end today, no party has announced to stake claim to form the new government.
While Shiv Sena-BJP combine is engaged in a tussle over the former's demand for equal distribution of Cabinet portfolios and the chief minster's term for 2.5 years, Congress and NCP have said they would sit in Opposition as per the mandate. The BJP and Shiv Sena, who are partners in the ruling alliance in Maharashtra, had fought the assembly polls together. While BJP won 105 seats, Shiv Sena bagged 56 seats in the 288-member Assembly.
